Five former Old Dominion University athletes earned medals at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

Collegiate sailing All-American Charlie Ogletree ’89 won the silver medal in the Tornado sailing class.

Anne Donovan ’83, ODU’s leader in career scoring, won a gold medal as an assistant coach with the USA women’s basketball team, while former player and coach Oliver Purnell ’75 took home bronze as an assistant coach with the USA men’s basketball team.

Field hockey standouts Macha van der Vaart and Marina DiGiacomo ’01 won silver and bronze medals for the Netherlands and Argentina, respectively.

Ogletree, who sailed for Old Dominion from 1986-89, teamed with John Lovell for their third straight Olympiad in the Tornado class. The duo finished eighth in 1996 and seventh in 2000 for Team USA.

“Our heads were down a little [about not winning the gold medal], but the moment we got ashore and started talking to the media and friends and family we started realizing how great it is to conclude with a medal after trying in Savannah and Sydney,” Ogletree said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Ogletree earned All-America honors at ODU in 1989 as he helped lead the Monarchs to fifth at the ICSA Team Race National Championships.

Donovan played for Old Dominion from 1979-83 and remains the school’s leader in career scoring (2,719), rebounding (1,976) and blocked shots (801). During her four years, the Lady Monarchs compiled a 116-20 record, winning the 1980 AIAW national championship, taking third in 1981 and reaching the NCAA Final Four in 1983. She was named the 1983 Naismith Player of the Year.

A former assistant at ODU, Donovan is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. She was a member of three U.S. Women’s Basketball Olympic teams as a player, and currently is the head coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.

Purnell captained the Monarch basketball team that won the 1975 NCAA Division II National Championship. He later became the ODU head coach from 1991-94, taking the Monarchs to the NCAA Tournament once and two NIT Tournaments and compiling a 57-33 record. ODU’s eighth all-time assist leader (476) and 31st all-time scorer (1,090), Purnell is currently the head coach at Clemson University.

A two-time field hockey All-American and 2000 Honda Award winner at Old Dominion, DiGiacomo helped lead the Lady Monarchs to the 1998 and 2000 NCAA National Championships.

The four-time CAA Player of the Year led the nation with 151 points, 63 goals and a 2.4 goals per game mark in 2000. She is the NCAA’s all-time scorer with 167 goals and 80 assists for 414 total points.

Van der Vaart played for the Lady Monarchs in 1990, scoring 32 goals with five assists. She helped lead Old Dominion to a 23-2-1 record and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament squad after scoring four of the Lady Monarchs’ five goals in their title win over North Carolina.